Neil Postman Virtual Students Digital Classroom Summary

Educators Teach Social Values In Neil Postman’s essay “Virtual Students, Digital Classroom” Postman provides food for thought on the topic of technology and how dependent our nation has become upon its existence. He then goes on to examine the correlation between technology and education. Some educators like Lewis Perelman argue, “Technologies have rendered schools entirely irrelevant since there is now much more information available outside the classroom than inside it” (544). Technology has always been about giving people access to information as quickly and easily as possible. Schools are designed for the distribution of information as well, but they also play a larger role in the development of our society. There are some things you
Postman states, “While technology has made some awesome additions to our culture, they’re still only Faustian bargains, meaning that technology can give and take away in equal measures”
(545). We all know what technology, cell phones and computers, for example, have given us and even what technology has taken away from us. Cell phones and computers have become a convenient tool; they are our day planners, wrist watches, video cameras and homework aides. However technology has taken away and nearly erased human interaction, which is completely necessary for proper human development. We need to consider what social skills children will lose if computer technology is their sole source of
Technology is centered on the individual. Postman states, “In the classroom it is individuals that learn, not groups, however an individual must learn in a setting which individual needs are subordinated to group interests. The classroom is intended to tame the ego, to connect the individual with others, and to demonstrate the value and necessity of group cohesion” (547). Working in groups allows children to communicate their ideas and learn though listening and speaking with one another. Additionally, working in groups helps children learn how to overcome differences and find compromises. If children were educated exclusively through computers this important part of their development would be missed. Children would grow up without knowing how to interact and or speak with one